- Written By: Kento ShimoyamaDirected By: Takayuki Shibasaki
Woz, an alternate version of myself, claiming to hail from a timeline without Oma Zi-O.
In order to defeat Another Shinobi, who wields the power of a Rider from the future, he transforms into Kamen Rider Woz.
There is no such recorded history of this.
How can such divergence even be possible...?
After defeating Another Shinobi and explaining who he is and where his is from to Geiz and Zi-O, the second Woz is confronted by Swartz, who seems to know that Kamen Rider Woz is here to claim Kamen Rider Shinobi's Ridewatch. He tells Woz he will not take it and reactivates the Another Shinobi Ridewatch to change Rentaro back into Another Shinobi, who uses a ninja technique to escape and Swartz leaves. The alternate Woz de-transforms and then says good bye to "his savior" Geiz as he leaves. Geiz, Zi-O, Tsukuyomi and their Woz only look on in shock as they contemplate a person they know but from diverging timeline being created.Back at 9 5 DO, Tsukuyomi tries to make sense of what happened by making a chart of the timeline to 2068, with Ohma Zi-O's Day of Ohma being the divergent point where the timelines split. They know that the Woz they encountered is the opposite of theirs, as he wishes to support Geiz to save the future. Sougo gets confused about which Woz they are talking about and suggests giving both of them separate names, calling him "White Woz" due to his brightly colored clothes and their Woz as "Black Woz". Black Woz is insulted, comparing being labeled as such to being a goat or some other domesticated animal, but Geiz immediately adopts the moniker and asks about the book White Woz had. Black Woz says he doesn't know what it is but it is different in nature to his own as it can create the future by warping reality to whatever he writes in it while his book can only prophecise. Sougo thinks that while the Ohma Zi-O and White Woz developments are important, they need to focus on finding Another Shinobi and what to do with him.
Rentaro is out looking at the bay when Swartz approaches him and says that his power is still intact and he needn't worry. Swartz has a flashback while revealing that he went to 2022 and stole Kamen Rider Shinobi's powers by absorbing them into a blank Another Ridewatch. This experiment created ideal results, as without the Kamen Rider the Another Rider's powers originate from to obtain, Zi-O and Geiz are powerless to stop the Time Jackers as Another Shinobi will be invincible. Making this plan even more effective is that the Time Mazines the Riders have cannot go to alternate future timelines to find the Rentaro in the future who had Shinobi's powers. Rentaro asks if he can use the Another Shinobi powers to protect the weak, to which Swartz says that Rentaro can do that and will be unstoppable and asks him to be the Time Jacker's chosen King. Rentaro is confused on that last part as Heure eavesdrops from a distance.
The next morning, Heure is sitting on a rooftop thinking to himself when Black Woz appears. Heure wonders which one he is and Woz simply replies "the black one", which annoys Heure who asks what he wants. Black Woz asks Heure for details about Another Shinobi, Heure says he overheard Swartz say that Another Shinobi is invincible now and Rentaro was going to become Kamen Rider Shinobi in 2022. Heure sensed a "righteous streak" about Rentaro and he was the first to make a contract with him in the usual way, manipulating the boy's desire to protect the weak despite being weak himself by offering him power and changing him into Another Shinobi the first time.
Black Woz relays this info to Sougo also informing him he told Geiz and Tsukuyomi, who are going to make an effort to go to 2022 to find Rentaro and recover his Ridewatch. Geiz and Tsukuyomi try to get to 2022, but the temporal effects of the splintered timeline is blocking their route, violently rattling the Time Mazine and they cannot exit to their destination and are forced to go back to 2019.
The gangsters who hurt Rentaro's friend are fooling around with one of them on his motorcycle, which vanishes while moving due to Another Shinobi's ninja powers. White Woz appears telling and observing Swartz that he has created a troublesome Another Rider. Swartz thinks he has created the ultimate no-win scenario, as they need Rentaro to create a Ridewatch to defeaat Antoher Shinobi and Rentaro is Another Shinobi. So White Woz cannot possibly win. White Woz begs to differ and alters reality, making it so Zi-O stumbles upon Another Shinobi. At 9 5 DO, Black Woz protests Sougo going to find Another Shinobi, as his counterpart is most likely there and interacting with Another Shinobi could alter the future in ways he doesn't want (namely the erasure of Ohma Zi-O's reign over the world). Sougo still wants to help Rentaro as his potential to be the hero of 2022 is still inside him and he believes in that potential. He won't ignore someone just for the sake of himself in the future. Woz expected as much, but tries to make Sougo realize that this is a trap. Sougo says if it is, then he'll just walk in expecting it then and heads out. Black Woz says he still has a bad feeling about this.
Swartz doubts White Woz's powers as Another Shinobi continues to beat up the gangsters without Zi-O appearing. Sougo finally shows up, much to White Woz's amusement. The Gangsters run off after taking a severe beating, with Rentaro reverting back to human form. Sougo walks up to him and tries to appeal to Rentaro's better nature, asking him if being a king is what he really wants and if it is then it is his mission to defeat him. Sougo tells Rentaro he needs to have faith in his future, recalling how he reclaimed his power as Zi-O despite the risks it would bring, asking Rentaro to put aside a desire for power and believe in himself. Rentaro, craving the power his Another Rider form gives him rejects Sougo's attempt to reach him and attacks him as Another Shinobi. As Zi-O, Sougo quickly takes down Another Shinobi using his Jikan Girade in Sword mode enhanced with the Gaim Ridewatch. But Swartz simply restarts the Ridewatch, telling Zi-O it is pointless and he will only die for his efforts as Another Shinobi attacks again and is stronger than last time. The Jikan Girade is knocked out of Zi-O's hand and Another Shinobi gets grabbed in a hold and headbutted by Zi-O, telling the feral Renataro he need to believe in his future self and then strikes him with a Rider Kick. Swartz prepares to restart the watch again, but Rentaro refuses to be used again and grabs his hand to prevent him from taking the Ridewatch. Rentaro declares that the future should be his to decide and though he is weak now he can believe he will be strong in the future and have faith in that future coming to be.
Satisfied that his plan worked, White Woz writes in his book that the Shinobi Ridewatch came into existence and a blank Ridewatch becomes a Shinobi Miridewatch in his hands. Swartz says he will not accept Rentaro's disobedience and forces him to become Another Shinobi yet again. White Woz thanks Zi-O for his "aid" and transforms into Kamen Rider Woz to attack Another Shinobi. Zi-O tries to stop him, but is no match for him. Rentaro regains his mental state and tries to help Zi-O, but both of them get thrashed by the future Rider. Woz then uses his Shinobi Miridewatch to become Woz Futurering Shinobi, much to Swartz's frustration as he leaves. Woz defeats Another Shinobi, partly from using Shinobi's powers and the other part from warping reality with his book. Rentaro is finally free of the Another Ridewatch as it ejects his body and breaks. White Woz tells Zi-O that he is not the enemy the Rider should be concerned with and walks off. Black Woz finds Sougo as he is walking home, who still thinks Rentaro will find the power to become a hero in the future if he chooses to be. Black Woz berates Sougo saying that his actions have sown the seeds of a possible victory for his other self. Black Woz tries to make Sougo realize that everyone is out to get him to stop Ohma Zi-O from coming except himself, Geiz, Tsukuyomi, the Time Jackers and now a different version of himself.
White Woz meets with Tsukuyomi and Geiz at a harbor and gives Geiz a prophecy, that a warrior who wields the power of three Riders who do not exist in time shall reign victorious over Zi-O on the Day of Ohma and bring forth a better future. He offers the Shinobi Ridewatch to Geiz as he believes it to be one of the three, but Geiz refuses because he doesn't trust him and wants to defeat Zi-O with his own strength. White Woz takes this in stride and says that someday he will trust him, but until then he will keep the watch safe and teleports away using its power. Geiz says that the impossible has happened, a Rider whose power should not exist has come to be, a future that they know nothing about is coming and asks Tsukuyomi if she is ready to face that. She says that is the reason they came to this time.
Meanwhile in someplace unknown, a shadowy mysterious Rider is walking through the flames, with his most notable feature being a mask with a question mark...
Episode Tropes:
- Dare to Be Badass: When Sougo confronts Rentaro later into the episode, he asks Rentaro if he truly wants to be king with this power he currently has or if he believes in himself in the future. Rentaro affirms his belief in his future self when Swartz tries to interfere a third time, allowing the Shinobi Miridewatch to be created.
- Skewed Priorities: As Tsukuyomi, Geiz, and Woz try to figure out a way to defeat Another Shinobi, Sougo is distracted by what to call their Woz and the other Woz.
- Unwinnable by Design: Another Shinobi is empowered by the Another Shinobi Watch, which requires Zi-O or Geiz to access Shinobi’s powers to permanently defeat Another Shinobi. However, because Shinobi comes from a divergent timeline and future, they cannot travel to the 2022 where Shinobi was a Rider and Rentaro’s natural development into Shinobi became impossible in their timeline, making Another Shinobi effectively invincible.
- Wham Shot: The episode ends with the reveal of the next future Rider: Kamen Rider Quiz.
